


Did You Really Doubt Me?

by theloverneverleaves



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle Siblings, Fluff, Let's Fight A Dragon, Lightwood Siblings, M/M, Minor Injuries, Protective Magnus Bane, Surprise Ending, battle fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:03:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11942781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theloverneverleaves/pseuds/theloverneverleaves
Summary: Magnus has made his choice to stand with his people, but now the time has come, Alec needs to stand with his. Idris needs his help, and it's with Jace and Izzy at his side that he must fight to protect it from the oncoming demon storm. But even in the most hopeless of battles, there can be an unexpected light.(aka. battle lightwood sibs, ft. hurt alec / protective magnus)





	Did You Really Doubt Me?

**Author's Note:**

> this is a summertime gift exchange fic for [magsbane](http://magsbane.tumblr.com)! the prompts were for lightwood siblings, malec and hurt alec / protective magnus so i did my best to go for all three. hope you like this one!! xoxo

It had always been coming to this. Alec didn't know why he was so surprised to be here. Only twenty four hours ago, this had felt like the most distant thing in the world. It had felt like he could still _fix_ everything with the politics and strategy and diplomacy he'd been raised on.

Sometimes diplomacy wasn't enough. It was a lesson he was going to have to learn to live with.

The air was different in Idris. He'd noticed it the second they’d arrived, on the hunt for Sebastian and Valentine, before they could make it to Lake Lyn and destroy the Downworld. Destroy everything. Destroy…

Alec couldn't think about that. Magnus had chosen his side; he'd made that abundantly clear the last time he was in the Institute. Magnus had to be the High Warlock of Brooklyn right now, just as Alec had to be the Head of the New York Institute. Magnus couldn't just be _Magnus_.

Magnus had to choose his people, just like Alec had to choose his. And the Warlocks had chosen the Seelies, who were far away from the beaches of Idris. Safe.

At least Magnus was safe. At least one person would survive all this. Alec didn't blame him for a second. He just wished…

Before he could pursue that though, there was a rogue Shax demon flying at his face, too close for Alec to take a shot, or grab the Seraph blade at his hip. But before it got within a foot of him, there was a sharp crack as Isabelle caught it with her whip and dragged it back to earth, Jace leaping in to finish it off.

Alec moved closer to them as they loosely formed a circle, back to back. Just like the old days, when they'd been teenagers and out on their first missions alone. Jace was his parabatai and Izzy was his sister. He'd die for either of them.

If they did this properly, maybe no one would die at all.

It was the one thing Alec had to focus on, ignoring the bodies littering the beach. He was a soldier with a job to do. Mortality and mourning had to come second. For now, they had to _survive_ , protect Idris, and stop Valentine.

Easy, right?

“How many?” Jace asked, voice straining over the din of war around them.

“What?” Alec asked, nocking another arrow and sighting out another demon, wings lifting it into a position where Alec could get a clean shot.

“How many demons have you killed?” Jace asked, even as he leapt forward, driving blades through more of the oncoming demon forces.

“Jace, this isn't the time for -”

“Ninety three.”

Alec let his shot fly, watching the arrow pierce the heart of the demon he'd targeted, before turning to stare at Izzy over his shoulder. Jace had paused too, looking at Izzy with what could only be described as pride and admiration.

Alec had always said she was the best Shadowhunter in the Institute. Jace was too, but then his angel blood meant it was practically cheating. Izzy… she was singularly brilliant because she'd worked for it.

“Okay fine, start from scratch now. First one to 25,” Jace challenged, simultaneously moving back into position and demolishing another two demons.

“Does that mean you were losing to me, brother?” Izzy challenged.

“Well, I won't be anymore!”

Alec rolled his eyes, grabbing three arrows from his quiver and lining up a shot. He took a moment to breathe and then fired, watching with some satisfaction as four demons disintegrated on the spot.

“Four,” Alec replied. There was no stopping them from their games, and besides, maybe making light of all this was the best they could do. There were so many demons, Alec didn't know how they'd be getting out of this one.

If they didn't, he certainly wasn't going to deny himself whatever moments of joy he could get.

Jace laughed, before leaping into action. He could feel Jace through his parabatai bond more intensely than he had in months. But then again, the bond was built for battle. Part of Alec knew exactly what Jace was going to do before he did it. None of them loved war, but the challenge of all this was setting Jace alight. It was infectious, and the thrill Jace felt… well, Alec smiled a little for the first time in hours. Days, even.

He'd always have Jace and Izzy. No matter what. He had to believe that.

“Holy shit, what is _that_ ?” Jace shouted, and Alec turned, eyes widening at the sight. Emerging from the sand itself was a creature easily bigger than a house. Scales shining in the sun, wings unfurling… “Is that a _dragon_?”

“Greater demon, more likely,” Alec murmured, moving to stand by Jace, watching the oncoming storm.

“If that gets to the city…” Izzy murmured.

“We can't let it.”

Alec took a deep breath, starting to strategize. If they could lure it away from the main fight, then they would at least have open ground to fight it on, away from all the smaller demons. But it was massive, and his arrows were probably toothpicks to something that size. It was hard to see a way through. But still, he could try.

“Jace, if you -”

“Clary!”

Alec resisted the urge to slam his head against a tree. Stay in the back, he'd told her. Stay safe, we'll take care of it. She'd been unhappy, but Alec had put his foot down. Baby Shadowhunters weren't built for this sort of battle. This was different to a couple of Shax demons in the sewers. This was major, and he'd wanted to keep her out of the way so they could stay focused.

But there she was. The insufferable redhead, running around the lake, past the dragon and straight into the forest, alone. Where Angel only knew what lay in wait for her.

“Go,” Alec said, looking over to meet his parabatai's eyes. Jace looked torn, ripped between staying with his family or going after the rebellious redhead. It had been that way since Clary Fray had barrelled into their lives though. Alec might find her infuriating, but she meant something to Jace.

He had learned to accept that. Clary Fray had damn near ripped them apart once - her and a collection of other factors, but still. Alec wouldn't let it happen again. Jace was too important to him. And right now, Jace needed to ensure Clary was safe more than he needed to be here.

“Alec…” Jace began, but Alec shook his head.

“No. Just go, and we'll see you again when you’re safe, okay?”

After a long moment, Jace nodded. “Okay.”

There was no time for goodbyes in battle. Just action. So Jace went, and Izzy moved closer to his side, eyeing the demon cautiously even as it drew closer.

“So what do we do now, big brother?”

“We take that thing down,” Alec replied, grabbing another arrow and lining up a shot.

Easier said than done had never felt more real. Alec just hoped they made it through.

 

* * *

 

The thing about using arrows was that eventually they ran out. It was a fact Alec had always been aware of, and one he was especially cursing right now. Izzy did her best to pick up those that she could find, but in the middle of a battle with a Greater Demon it was a little difficult.

As was fighting a literal dragon with a seraph blade, which was feeling about as useful as a toothpick right now. All they could do was try and distract it, but even that was proving costly.

They'd lost too many good people today.

It felt like days since this had all started, hours since Jace had left their side. Time had its own concept, and Alec was reduced to measuring it by the number of times he’d had to activate his stamina rune, the number of aches and pains and wounds on his body. He’d trained all his life to be a solider, but they’d never trained him for war. Not like this. Skirmishes on the streets of New York were entirely different to this. This… this was chaos.

It was hard to hold out hope for so long in a situation like this. They were outnumbered, outgunned and outmanoeuvred. Alec had rallied what was left of their forces to the beach, to prevent the demons reaching Idris itself. But there was no end to the hordes, and with a _dragon_ at their back, it was hard to hold their own.

They were being toyed with. There was no way they could win this. There was no way it could end well.

Regardless, Alec kept fighting. If he gave up, then everyone else would. And they couldn’t just _give up_. He had to keep going. For Izzy, at the very least, he had to keep going. If there was one person he could save in all of this, it had to be Izzy. Jace, Max, Magnus, there were all far outside of his control. Izzy, though… Izzy he could save. Izzy could go home. If they just made it through, if they just somehow stopped the oncoming tide…

He wasn’t sure how that was going to happen. Ever since Fray had arrived, Alec had been getting used to the concept of not knowing what to do. Not that he found it any more comfortable than he had before, but at least it wasn’t unfamiliar. Valentine, the Downworld, the wreck that had become the New York Institute, the Clave… they seemed to flipping from one disaster to another lately. It just so happened this was the latest one. And arguably the biggest.

He was down to his last arrow, and rather than fire it he was saving it for an emergency, instead trying to fend off the hoards of minor demons doing their best to overwhelm them on the shore. The Greater Demon was a problem, but one that would have to wait.

Alec turned on the spot, driving his blade up into the heart of the closest demon, one that was making a leap for another of the Shadowhunters. The thing disintegrated with a shriek, but another took its place just as easily. It was a simple process. Spin, stab, pause, target. Over and over until something broke the chain.

Until some _one_ broke the chain.

“Izzy!”

He’d never left her side for long, refusing point blank to do so, but somewhere along the way Izzy had strayed a little. And looking over now, Alec could see what had happened, clear as day. There was one of the younger ones of their forces, a kid who could barely be sixteen, and Izzy was on the ground in front of him, wrestling with a demon too close for comfort. No doubt that Izzy had seen the kid, seen the memory of a wounded Max, and done everything she could to protect him.

And now she was in trouble. Running forward, Alec ignored everything and everyone else, drawing his final arrow with a calm certainty that only came when the people he loved were in danger. He took only a moment to aim before letting the arrow fly, watching it soar through the air and pierce the neck of the demon attacking his sister with deadly precision.

Izzy stopped struggling almost immediately, coughing slightly through the acrid burn of ichor and smoke. She pushed herself upright, flipping her hair out of her eyes. Alec smiled slightly in her direction, no matter how inappropriate it likely was for the time. She was safe, for now. He'd always be happy about that.

His joy was short lived, however, as there was quickly a weight on his back and a sharp pain in his shoulder. And in that moment, several things happened at once.

The most pressing and urgent thing Alec was aware of was the demon at his shoulder, effectively trying to chew through his neck.

It was nothing Alec hadn't felt before, over the years, but that didn't make it less pleasant. His hands reached up, using a dagger pulled from his belt to stab through and rip the thing free. Even as the demon fell free and began to disappear in a ball of ash and smoke, his problems weren't exactly over.

The second thing Alec became aware of was the dragon. In protecting Izzy he'd veered into enemy lines a little more than he'd intended, and the great red beast was now looming behind him, something that was impossible to miss from the sound of it breathing. Alec turned slowly on the spot, looking up to see it approach, eyes glowing with malice.

Alec was bleeding badly, and he could feel the demon ichor beginning to hit his system. No doubt it could smell the injury. He took a step back but stumbled, tripping backwards and landing in the sand and dirt with a thud that seemed to rattle all of his bones.

The third thing he noticed was Izzy. Izzy, who was yelling his name, no doubt scrambling to her feet, running towards him. Alec wished she would stay away - the dragon was looking particularly menacing, a massive inhale of breath signifying the thing Alec had been seeing since it arrived, the deadly stream of fire it produced every now and again.

Fire that would be pouring his way in a matter of seconds.

Alec wished he could move, could at least try to get away, but the strength was gone from his limbs, fatigue and injury finally leaving their mark. Izzy was too far, and the demon forces too great.

It was over. At least Izzy was safe, but there was no way he would get out of this now. Closing his eyes, he sent out a silent apology to Jace, to the parabatai bond he would inevitably break.

The final thing he thought of was Magnus.

He wished they could have had more time. At the very least, he wished they could have had a better final moment that Magnus having to choose another side. He wished they could have kissed, wished he could have reminded Magnus how much he loved him.

He wished they could have had a future.

Maybe the demon ichor really was getting to his head, because at he lay there, he could have sworn he heard Magnus' voice, calling his name.

The dragon roared, heat poured across Alec's face, and yet somehow, he didn't feel any pain. Alec frowned before opening his eyes, squinting against the brightness in front of him. And there, silhouetted against the fire, was a familiar set of shoulders, hands thrown up and a barrier of magic holding back the flames.

Magnus was here. Magnus was _here_ , in Idris. Saving his life.

If Alec hadn't already been desperately in love with him, he definitely would be now.

“Magnus?” Alec choked out, and Magnus glanced over his shoulder, a faint smile on his face. “What are you doing here? The warlocks -”

“Know the only way we are ever going to make things better is by helping _now_ ,” Magnus replied. Alec frowned. That wasn’t what he’d been saying before.

“But the Seelie Queen… I thought -”

“She only cares about her own games, and her own amusement.” He could imagine that. The Queen was always difficult to deal with, but she also sat apart from the rest of the Downworld. What did the Seelies care if New York and Idris burned? They had their own realm. They’d be fine, no matter what. There were no consequences. Not like there were for them.

Alec exhaled, lying back on the sand. Magnus turned away from the barrier, which seemed to hold itself up, a testament to the seemingly infinite power of his boyfriend. Alec could see flashes of light from beyond the golden iridescent bubble, a cacophony of sound as the beach flooded with Downworlders - wolves, warlocks and vampires alike. Alec hadn’t even noticed the sun go down. He could see Simon and Raphael with Izzy, protecting her back. Dot was nearby, holding back the demon forces as Catarina ran to some of the injured Shadowhunters, lying on the sand. Wolves raced past, tearing at the demons with claws and teeth and energy Alec had long spent.

Suddenly, it felt like a war they might _win_.

As Magnus moved closer and began to work his magic, Alec lay back and took a deep breath. He'd never really gotten used to the feeling of magic working on him, especially Magnus’. It felt so… intimate somehow. But the pain relief was something, and Alec was a lot less certain about his oncoming doom. He had Magnus at his side. There wasn't a power left in the world that could stop them.

“Did you really doubt I would come for you?”

Alec frowned, thinking it over for a moment. Had he ever doubted Magnus loved him? No, of course not. If anything, in all this mess and chaos that was the one thing that he was sure of. Their relationship, what they felt for each other, Alec had never doubted that for a second. But they had jobs, a duty to their people. Magnus himself had admitted things were complicated, because he was trying to balance his duty to his people with his love for a Shadowhunter. It wasn’t as if Alec didn’t _understand_. He’d been there, with the Inquisitor throwing his every decision into doubt because his judgement was somehow ‘clouded’ by his feelings.

If it had just been the two of them, Alec wouldn’t have doubted Magnus for a second. But it was never just the two of them. They had the whole world weighing down on their shoulders. And that would always count for something, whether they liked it or not. And Alec would never want to take that duty away from Magnus. Never.

"I wasn't sure," Alec admitted, not willing to lie to Magnus, not after everything. Their relationship needed to be built on honesty. He wasn't about to ruin that now. "It sounded like the Seelie Queen made a good case. She was pretty clear about her terms."

Magnus scoffed a little, rolling his eyes. "She made a case, backed it up with some emotional blackmail, and then inevitably left us high and dry. I'm just sorry it worked for a while."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Alec insisted, pushing himself up as Magnus finished his work. His shoulder was good as new, and the barrier Magnus had created was holding strong. It was almost as if he didn't even notice it was there.

Alec wondered how strong Magnus was, really. Not that it mattered. Magnus could have had no magic at all, and Alec still would have been stronger for having him here, at his side.

Magnus' hand ran over the healed skin before cupping his face gently. He smiled softly, shaking his head. "No. I do. I should have given you more credit, and I shouldn't have listened to anyone else but you." Magnus paused, eyes searching Alec's face. "Mostly, I'm sorry you had to face all this alone. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. And I'm sorry I made you think I wouldn't be here when you needed me."

"It's okay. We managed," Alec soothed, well aware that managing was all he was capable of crediting them with. They'd lost a lot of people today. But what was done was done. There was no use worrying about the past when they still had the future. And they still had this battle to finish too.

"I will always choose you, Alexander. In every universe, in every possible situation, I will always choose _you_."

Alec couldn't help but lean in to kiss him, well aware that this probably wasn't the time or the place, but unable to help himself either. Using the lapels of Magnus' jacket, he tugged him in, kissing the worry and the surprise and the regret from that beautiful man's face.

They broke apart after a moment, and Alec smiled. Magnus was okay. He was here. And they were going to _win_. That future, all those days Alec had wanted with him, waking up in their bed, sharing breakfasts and dinners and dates and trips abroad... he wanted it all. He wanted everything.

Funny how it took a situation so close to death to bring life into clarity.

"If we survive this, remind me to ask you to marry me," Alec murmured. It was more of a thought than something he meant to voice aloud, the fatigue and the joy made his tongue loose, apparently. It was only after a few moments of silence and Magnus' wide eyes that Alec realised he'd spoken aloud at all. "Shit. I... Uh... I mean..." Alec stammered, nerves and exhaustion getting the better of him.

But Magnus just smiled, leaning closer. "Alexander. If we survive this, remind me to say yes."

And in that moment, Alec felt invincible.

Grabbing his seraph blade and getting to his feet with a newfound energy, Alec looked around him, and then back to Magnus, who was getting back to his feet.

“How do we take this thing down?” Alec asked insistently, focusing on the storm outside, the battle raging on. Magnus raised an eyebrow.

“You seem rather keen all of a sudden,” Magnus mused, simultaneously making a gesture to remove the barrier.

“The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get engaged. So, yeah, I’ve got a dragon demon to kill.”

Magnus eyes sparkled with mirth and joy. “Well, then. Let’s go kill a dragon.”

 

* * *

 

“I still can’t believe you got engaged whilst fighting a _dragon._ That’s…. insane,” Jace said, sipping another beer.

“Well, we all know our brother has a tendency for the dramatic,” Izzy commented, and Alec couldn’t help but flush slightly. Magnus moved a little closer at his side, and Alec couldn’t help but smile, entwining their fingers on the table top. They’d survived the very worst of days, and done the impossible. It was hard to feel anything but happy about _everything_.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Magnus murmured in his ear, and Alec grinned.

Maybe he should get into fights with dragons more often.


End file.
